rilK UJJIAIMA. I'M 



eiijuys in its iKiurishiug' ])ed the triekliui>-s IVuni (ho fi)uii- 

 luiiis t;ir aliiive il mi the liappy hills. It imist Ije yiowii 

 iu a yorid soilj ami with heat and niuistuve suHieieut, ur it 

 had best nut li.' grown at all — because, in truth, it will 

 licit tinurish nnless kindly treated. For the great gniwer, 

 the niiinth of January is the time to sow the seed ; for 

 the little grower, the [irijjier time is before the end of 

 February. The sowing is a niee alfair. Those \\'ho skimp 

 are sure ti) limp, for the plant will not be trilled with — and, 

 indeed, why should it, when it has done no harm to any- 

 body ^ Prepare for the purpose a compost (_)f peat, loam, 

 leaf-mould, and silver sand, and with this till enuveiiient- 

 sized pots or seed-pans. A shallow seed-bed will answer 

 perfectly, therefore deep boxes are not required. Having 

 sown the seed, plunge the pots or boxes nearl\' to the 

 rim in a. bed of tan or any other moist material, the tem- 

 perature of the house or pit to range from 05 to 7o, the 

 mean, of euurse, to lie 70". 



The seedling plants will soon appear, and should lie as 

 (piieklv as possible transferred to thimble-pots in a, lieli, 

 l)ut light, peaty compost, and kej^t growing near tin; glass, 

 and shifted again as soon as the pots are idled with routs, 

 until they are allowed to ilower in pots of a snitalilc size 

 for their degree of vigour. In .5-iiich pots beautiful 

 specimens may be llowered; l>ut iii the second }'ear these 

 may have S-inch pots with advantage. They re(piire 

 abundant supplies of water, but should never Ije wetted 

 overhead ; and whenever a plant presents an unhealthy 

 appearance, lift the jwt, and consider if it is heavier than 

 it ought to be. If it be so, turn out the [)laut, and you 

 will tind that stagnant muisture has made the soil sour, 

 and i.^ the scile cause of the poor state of the specimen. A 



